Re: Guns N' Roses tour to continue through 2017(and beyond)

GUNS N' ROSES' production magager Dale "Opie" Skjerseth says that "there's no end date" to the band's "Not In This Lifetime" reunion tour, with "plenty" of shows already booked for "far into next year.""Not In This Lifetime" sees core band members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan on stage together for the first time in more than twenty years.In a wide-ranging conversation with local media — including 11Alive WXIA-TV — on Tuesday before tomorrow's GUNS N' ROSES concert in Atlanta, Georgia, Skjerseth said that all members of the band are "getting along just fine" and has shot down speculation that the fact that they have separate dressing rooms means there is tension within the ranks, Skjerseth said: "Just because everybody's older, they carry their families with them. They all have to have their space."Everybody meets before we go on stage. It's a meeting point and that's where the chemistry happens.Asked what brought the band back together, money or music, Skjerseth said: "I believe it starts with the love the band… And then of course — we all want money."Regarding the band's future, Skjerseth said: "I've been told there's no end date, and I've seen plenty of dates going into next year, far into next year. Everybody's working together to keep a common goal and common direction: keep the machine going."Skjerseth also talked about how Axl is managing to take the stage on time now as opposed in previous years when GUNS N' ROSES had a reputation for beginning concerts hours after its scheduled start time. He said: "We're all older and want to get to bed now."We were all young," Skjerseth said of Rose's behavior on previous tours. "Even I was young. It's his maturity and business and how it should be. Everybody feels good about it. He's here before the guys, the rest of them, some days. He comes in, he shows up, gets out of the car, goes on stage. Sometimes he stays on site."

Re: Guns N' Roses tour to continue through 2017(and beyond)

Yea, that’s all well & good... but Axl has never adequately explained what happened to Gun N’ Roses.Seems like he arrived in the Paradise City & dismissed the concerns of the rest of us.. which is fair enough, & probably adequately explains what happened. Keep the machine going.

Separate dressing rooms etc is bullshit throwback courting controversy, & an area where Axl & reality/common sense align. The “maturity”/“we were all young” doesn’t wash. Where was that during the meltdown in Dublin ‘08 when he was a 45 year old baby?? Is that meant to excuse the past 20-30 years? Is there really nothing more than arrested development at play? I preferred the old, late as fuck, neurotic Axl tbh.. this Axl fails to satisfy. There’s no intrigue.. maybe that was his play/act back then..??

Re: Guns N' Roses tour to continue through 2017(and beyond)

it's kind of more and more stupid to read "better than ever" everywhere, when it's just as weak as 10 years ago and never ever reached the 2006 level, not even mentioning the UYI/AFD era. that's just BS.

Re: Guns N' Roses tour to continue through 2017(and beyond)

TBH I thought his vocal performance was fine the two times I saw him in 2017. And he's killing it with AC/DC. Slash is playing some of the best guitar of his career, there's plenty of chemistry in the band. The one thing that lets it down is (and it's superficial, I know) Axl's gut. I remember the burly, hungry Axl of '06 and roly-poly '17 Axl is a bit of a comedown; it invites jokes. Frankly if I had his money I'd just throw cash at a fix. Personal trainers, HGH, surgery, whatever. Sort that shit out.

Re: Guns N' Roses tour to continue through 2017(and beyond)

it's kind of more and more stupid to read "better than ever" everywhere, when it's just as weak as 10 years ago and never ever reached the 2006 level, not even mentioning the UYI/AFD era. that's just BS.

That 2016 lineup blows away the 2006 lineup in all capacities and twice on Sundays.

Only thing better about 2006 was his youth.

The reason people say "better than ever" is because its true. We're seeing the results of the CD saga playing out over an entire generation. It IS better than ever to them. They weren't alive in 87-93. Even an old fan like me has to dig into set lists from 1991 to find one that compares to current set lists.

All of this was predicted by fans like me. The CD era for the world at large/casual fans is the dream season on Dallas, its Halloween 3, its Rocky V, Godfather III.....something that the world wishes to pretend never existed.

Next time you're at a concert, club, etc. ask about CD or CD II. Ask about previous lineups. Expect blank stares.

Re: Guns N' Roses tour to continue through 2017(and beyond)

I enjoy what we have now, so don't mean to piss on it. But "better than ever" is absurdist hyperbole.

Here's what it really is: Best it's been since 1993.

The 1993 band would destroy the modern line up - just as you'd expect from people in the prime of life as opposed to middle age.

But it is better than nu-gnr.

Let's be honest - that's because one of the most important elements of GNR's success was that Axl and Slash sound good together.

But when you look at individuals - Frank is the worst drummer GNR has ever had, Melissa is at best unnecessary and at worst embarrassing and Axl was dangerously close to losing his voice by the time the 2017 shows came around.

What we have is a huge trade up from the Ashba-led 2012 era, but Axl doesn't have the fire he had from 2006-2009, and UYI era GNR would run rings around this band - white bike pants 29yo Axl would literally run a ring around himself - all while screaming out KOHD or something. Seriously take a look at the physicality of Paris 92 or a similar show and listen to the vocals - then watch a 2017 show. There's great stuff about the new shows - but best ever? Afraid not.

Re: Guns N' Roses tour to continue through 2017(and beyond)

Chinese Democracy is a landmark piece of art in the context of my life. The mystery, the discovery and analysis of demos, the almost mythological chase for details, the entire leadup to the album was a psychological and emotional journey unlike anything I've ever experienced. New fans who can buy/download the album, and track down all the demos all at once, will have no inkling of what an adventure the waiting period had been.

I'm happy for Duff, Slash, and Axl, and I hope they will record great new music together. I just hope they will not settle for going the Rolling Stones route of being a lucrative, reliable, but unsurprising nostalgia act. Now that they've healed their wounds, and made a fortune touring together, I pray they will use this momentum, goodwill, and public trust to continue their creative partnership.